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The phone rings once, before being picked up, a voice immediately speaking from the answering side of the line, "no."
"Come on."
"No."
"Sid."
"Not happening."
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
"Sid come on, this is insane."
"And I'm telling you Macklin, no."
Macklin Celebrini sits in his Swiss hotel room, the sky starting to darken outside the window. Sat on his bed, on a call with his idol and former captain, Mack thought he knew how this conversation would go, but seemingly Sidney Crosby was as stubborn about this as he was about his health and his superstitions.
"Sid, please. Come on, you have to see that this is insane." Mack wheedles.
"You're you," He emphasised, before continuing. "You're Captain Canada. Nobody else should captain Team Canada while you're playing. Nobody else should ever captain any team your on." Mack's tone was quickly shifting into something hysterical, tears beginning to build in his eyes, but he refused to let them drop. While he was only on a phone call, Sid had an uncanny ability of being able to read Mack's emotions and guess his facial expressions and if Mack didn't get a hold of himself, those tears would soon be very much known about.
Sid let Mack gather himself, hearing him attempt to cover some low sniffles, he chose to give Mack some dignity and pretend he hadn't heard them, before he started to speak.
"Mack," He began. "The captaincy isn't everything. Not to me. I don't mind getting the chance to play at being a normal player again."
He stopped before continuing on.
"I'm getting older Macklin, as much as I don't want to be. My time in professional sport is in its twilight years. Don't count me out yet," He was quick to add, "I've still got some years in me. But you will, some day, play in an NHL and on international ice, and I'll not be there. Just treat this as a little taster for what is to come."
Sid was aiming for comforting but Mack had been teetering on the edge of something since he was named captain in the first place, and this late addition had thrown the very careful balance he had been constructing right out of the window.
"I don't know a world in which you're not the captain of every team you're on." He cried. "I can't be the first one, the first person to kick you from a captaincy. I'm not good enough. I'm no one. Everyone will hate me."
"Sid, please." Mack was begging through the tears that were now dropping in earnest, carving down his face in rivulets.
His sniffles, cries and begging carried over the phone line, reaching Sid's ears as he sat in his Pittsburgh living room. He had finished the last bits and pieces he had in relation to the Penguins, had had his meetings and made his opinions about trades and signings very much known, and now was left with a teenager to console.
It was a few hours until the news dropped to the general public, but Hockey Canada had told him they were planning to give Mack and his Alternates a heads up to allow for them to plan and have answers to any media they may be unlucky enough to run into.
"Mack," Sid began softly. "This isn't about me, is it? This is about you and feeling like you don't deserve this."
Mack begun to work himself back up, the tears falling faster as Sid's words hit deep.
"I was chosen because there was no one else. I don't know why they picked me, I can't do this. I'm not a captain. I'm not good enough"
"Mack," When the first call of his name didn't work, Sid raised his voice, aiming to be heard over Macklin's spiralling thoughts. "Mack!"
"Huh? Yeah."
"You were spiralling kid. You're ok." Sid decided enough was enough, transferring the call to facetime so he could see Macklin and truly see how he was feeling, which was seemingly, by the state of his face, quite badly.
Sid then continued onwards, seeing Mack rub at his eyes and tears continue to drop, though at a much smaller and slower rate.
"You need to stop with the self deprecation kid, you're good. You're a good kid, a good player, and I'm sure you will become a great one. I know for a fact I've told you this before, and I'm sure the others told you the same when you spoke to them."
Sid spoke before quickly realising, "you did speak to them, didn't you?"
"Yes!" Mack was quick to answer. "Yes. Yes I did. It's not very often you get instructed to call some Canadian hockey legends, it is not something I'll forget very quickly."
"Although," Mack continued, "Davo may have been a bit distant."
"Fair enough," Sid chirped in, "he probably won't be very good company currently, sorry, I didn't think of that. I'll message him later and see how he's doing. How was Marie-Philip?"
"Good, she gave some good advice. They're currently still in playoffs and doing well, so I didn't want to take up too much of her time."
"Well, that's what you've got me for. No playoffs in sight, no interest in going golfing more than I already have and a European tour on the horizon." Sid huffed a laugh before drawing back into himself, returning to the calm, pensieve personality he is lauded for, though under it lay a subtle layer of melancholy.
"There were other options, Mack. A lot of them. With years more service, and yet, you were who they picked." He continued on. "You're A's have got years of experience, well more than you, hell JT has captained a team before. But none of that matters, because Hockey Canada chose you."
"Trust yourself, and your skills. And trust that the staff knew what they were doing when they chose you."
"You have already won a game as captain at this, that was a beauty by the way. You've done a great job. I can't wait to have you as my captain. To see how you grow and develop over this competition, oh it will be wonderful to see up close."
Mack's sniffles and tears had slowed down, mostly subsiding while Sid spoke, leaving him feeling emotionally worn but clear headed.
"But what if I don't know what to do? What if there's something I miss?"
"I'm going to be an alternate, not dead, Mack. You can ask me questions. Talk to your other A's as well, if you get bored of hearing me talk, though maybe don't listen to Tavares for too long or he'll get you holding his amulet."
Mack let out a laugh, the joy finally breaking through his melancholy.
"What the hell is up with that?" He asked incredulously.
"Who knows" Sid shrugged, while smiling himself.
Sid pulled himself together before Mack, and sat on a call together, seperated by a whole ocean, Sid spoke directly to Mack's deepest insecurities.
"We've got you Mack, lean on us. Lean on me, lean on your A's, lean on the team. This is a team sport. You don't have to do this alone. You are not the sole driving force, instead you are a piece in the larger puzzle, the cog in an engine, not the engine itself."
He paused before continuing.
"You are going to do brilliantly, I am so proud of you. I can't wait to be a part of this with you."
He stopped, making sure he caught Mack's eyes and spoke directly to his soul.
"I'll see you in Switzerland, Captain Celebrini."
Sid signed off the call with those final words, smiling at Mack encouragingly before the screen went black.
Captain Celebrini.
He could do this.